Bondia hotu-hotu! That means ‘good morning everyone’ in Tetun, the national language of Timor-Leste! (East-Timor)
Well, we made it safely to Timor after a whirlwind-of-a-trip, driving to Sydney for a micro 2-3 day visit, then flying back to Melbourne, then flying to Darwin and on through to Dili! In Sydney, we spent a few precious hours catching up with family and friends. We also handed over our car to our good friend Epely, whom we trust will make good use of it for the Kingdom of God. Cher had made a startling discovery, that it was cheaper and quicker to buy flights back to Melbourne and from Melbourne to fly to Darwin, than to purchase flights from Sydney to Darwin (which went via Perth)! Crazy .. So anyway that’s what we did .. After Sydney we were back in Melbourne just long enough to pack our bags before our ‘red eye express’ to Darwin! We stayed one night at YWAM Darwin, catching up with some old friends and also meeting some wonderful new ones! Thankfully we were also able to leave some of our things with some friends in Darwin, as there was a leaner baggage weight limit for our flight to Timor.
The sky was mostly clear and blue on our arrival in Timor-Leste. The lush green covering and the jutting mountains of the island looked so beautiful on our flight in! Early in the morning at Dili airport, we were greeted by Lucinda and Doris, friends, fellow Aussie’s and co-labourers with us in God’s Kingdom work. We were taken to where they were staying in Dili and met Olimpia and her household. Then we had a nice breakfast at the house of some Brazilian friends of Lucinda who work with YWAM East-Timor.
Cher and I have been totally blessed on our arrival in Timor, or maybe ‘spoilt’ is the right word! We were offered the choice of 3 different options for accommodation! Olimpia offered for us to stay with her, Lucinda’s Brazilian friends opened their house to us and prior to coming to Timor, Cher’s friend Natalie had offered for us to stay with her! After meeting Natalie later on in the day, after her hike in the mountains, and seeing her place, we felt it would be most suitable staying at hers. It’s a small house and we have a very small room but a nice sized bed, with a mosquito net. Natalie has been away for a few weeks now and we’ve been sharing the house with another Australian lady, a lawyer, doing a short stint with The Leprosy Mission East-Timor. She leaves this week and then Cher and I will have the little house to ourselves for a little while.
On our first evening in Dili, Natalie brought us along to a social dinner, at a house practically next door to us and introduced us to some of her friends and contacts, a lively bunch of ex-pat doctors, nurses, lawyers and NGO employees. We’ve since had more dinners together with some of them who live in very close proximity to us.
It seems some good things have been coming to us in threes because the day after we arrived we went with Natalie to 3 different churches! Two of them were home churches (or home groups), the other one was in a regular church building and was well attended. Cher and I relished singing praise and worship to God amidst the various nations represented! At the two home groups we met an interesting array of highly skilled, gifted and compassion-filled people all working in different ways, serving the people and nation of East-Timor. Most of the people we met were Aussies, some were from the UK and some from the US .. But we’ve been told that there are large numbers of Chinese and Cuban doctors working in the main hospital in Dili ..
Before Natalie left on her work trip, she took us on an orientation trip of Dili, showing us all the best and cheapest grocery stores, shops and restaurants. We also wandered through one of the main markets in Dili .. So many things for sale and so cheap! Many things in Dili though aren’t that cheap (even by Aussie standards) as they are imported from everywhere and the currency here is in US dollars. Timorese say Indonesia is much cheaper than East-Timor.
Without much delay Cher and I began Tetun lessons at Olimpia’s house with Vasco, a Timorese friend of Lucinda, who has also had some past involvement with YWAM. Our Tetun vocabulary is slowly growing and we have already had many opportunities to practice, in class with Vasco and Doris; shopping and while out and about amongst the Timorese people, who are mostly very appreciative and encouraging with big smiles!
Apart from focusing on learning Tetun, one of our other main aims (along with Lucinda and Doris) was to acquire a 4WD vehicle for our trip up to the village of Weberek. At this stage, Lucinda has almost completed the purchase of a second-hand 4WD Mitsubishi!! Hallelujah!! God is good!! As soon as the vehicle is ours, it will get some touch-ups at a mechanic, but we will most probably be heading up through the mountains and down south to Weberek very soon! We had a meeting with the staff of YWAM East-Timor, as we will be using a house in Weberek, which currently belongs to them. Upon our departure from East-Timor last year, the staff of YWAM agreed to pray about what God was saying to them regarding Cher and I living and working in Weberek. In the meeting, Cher and I were greatly encouraged to hear that God had spoken to them all .. that we were indeed the ones that God was calling to live in Weberek! Hallelujah!! God is so good!! But just to clarify, Cher and I will not be working under YWAM nor any church denomination or organisation. We are willing to collaborate with and work alongside Christians of various church denominations and organisations, as well as with representatives from local governments and NGO’s .. but we operate solely under the authority of Jesus and His revealed Word.
We went to an open meeting at YWAM and it was great. We enjoyed some worship and fellowship and heard a great message from a Christian leader from Singapore. We were reminded that Jesus calls us to be the salt and light of the world. And how only a small pinch of salt is needed to flavour a whole meal and how the smallest flickering light can dispel the thickest darkness.
Indeed, the world is full of lies and injustice but the truth is a sword that cuts through the lies that bind us and a light that shines into the darkness that blinds us .. God is love and the Word of God is truth .. Jesus is the truth.
Our time in Dili has been tremendously exciting, being in a totally different country and culture, however there are a few negatives like squatty toilets; cold ‘showers’; an abundance of skin whitening soaps at shops; tropical disease carrying mozzies and having to constantly apply anti-mozzie repellant; periodic blackouts; big, ugly cockroaches and rats; food challenges, as in just trying to source and eat good, healthy food; monsoonal, flooding rains; the pollution and noisy traffic jammed streets of a city in a developing nation and having to walk most places, even when it’s practically flooding!
But there’s the positive side too, fried bananas for 10 cents each! Also, homemade yoghurt made out of milk powder; cheap taxis; meeting lots of interesting people; learning a new language; the use of electricity (while in Dili); easy access to shops; cheap and clean drinking water (bought in big bottles); beautiful beaches and natural surroundings; friendly Timorese people and happy, smiling children of all ages despite their obvious poverty!
The unpredictable political situation puts an interesting spin on it all, with the current presidential elections. Before the election day, hundreds of Timorese, mainly youth, took to the streets in numerous long cavalcade processions winding all through Dili, usually in trucks spilling over with loud, enthusiastic, often frenzied political supporters but also in large groupings of motorcycle riders. Each procession sported T-shirts, flags and banners promoting one of the 30+ political parties participating in the elections. Posters of the various respective candidates of the political parties have been plastered throughout the city. We’ve been told the presidential elections are no where near as volatile and potentially divisive as the prime ministerial elections later in June, nevertheless some foreigners didn’t want to take any chances and left the country for this period. But we haven’t been afraid. We registered with the Australian Embassy here though and they will sms us in the event of any serious conflicts or tensions that may arise. For us, we are content enough to know that we are in the will of God and in His sight and we fear no man. While the world may rally around this or that political personality in vain hope, we are ‘monarchists’ with God as our King and He knows them that are His. So if God is for us, who can be against us?
Does He reign in your heart ..?
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” So we feel we’re right where we’re meant to be as bringing and making peace is part of our mandate, as is introducing the nations to the Prince of peace - Jesus, who freely gives peace to all, peace that is not of this world.
Soon, before we go to Weberek, we will apply for our 2 month Visa extensions with the Timorese Immigration Office. We pray all will go smoothly!!
Thanks for tuning in! Sorry we don’t have any pics for you this time, but we’ll try and get some up soon!
Lots of Love and Blessings to you all,
L & C
